Cost of home

The news today is filled with reports that young people cannot afford to be a first-time home buyer because the mortgage rates are too high. Today the rates run 6 to 7% Home mortgage rates stayed above 7.5% from 1970 to 2000 with a high of 18%. The parents of many of these young people recall paying 10% or higher for loans. The problem is not the interest rate but the cost of homes. In 1970 the average home cost $24,000 and today the cost is $420,000. This is an increase of 5% per year. Meanwhile the average wage in 1970 was $10,000 and today is $78,000 which is an increase of 3.75%. Wages have not kept up with the cost of housing or the inflation rate for the past 50 years. This is why the low- and middle-income groups have suffered and the main reason for this is the loss of manufacturing jobs. During this time the top one percent saw their income rise by 7%. The globalization that occurred during this time, was beneficial to the rich, as corporations made huge profits by producing cheap products overseas, at the expense of good jobs in the US. Politicians in both parties ignored the working people during these years.